Beats
by thoughtstory
Summary: She stopped to admire the blonde woman – who must be the chef – she looked angry but she was so beautiful, Rachel had never seen someone with such beauty before in her life even with her yelling and a little bit sweaty. AU


"I got the job," she said to him. "At that fancy restaurant I was telling you about."

"As a waitress?" She nodded. He sighed and grabbed her hand. "I know that in your plan you expected to at least land a role on an off-Broadway play by now, but that'll happen don't worry. Sometimes things take a while to happen." She nodded.

"I know. It's just... I just feel like I disappointed myself that's all." She looked down at her food her best friend and roommate did to cheer her up after another rejection. "But I'm fine. I'll get through this, Kurt."

Kurt Hummel, her best friend since junior year of high school, went with her to New York even after he was rejected by NYADA, their dream school. But while she studied he found a new passion besides singing, designing. He decided to continue on the fashion career and now he was working at a big fashion company, she knew he was going to be successful there and possibly going to have his own line of clothes in the future. Things were looking up for him.

But things weren't looking up for her. She did know she just got out of college so is common she hadn't got a role yet. She is now working in a restaurant as a waitress, not how she imagined her life being.

"Fine. So when do you start?" He asked her as he finished his food and got up taking her plate with him, since she already finished. "Santana said she's gonna be home late today."

Santana Lopez, a former cheerleader who used to rule their school at their hometown, Lima, Ohio. They sort of became friends at their senior year in high school after a jock outed her in front of the whole school. She was there for her even if she had never talked to the girl before the incident. Santana was still a bitch but now at least she had friends. She got in at NYU and was now on her way to finishing law school.

"She's not studying again, is she?" She asked him. She was worried for Santana, that girl pulled an all-nighter two days in a row to study. "She has to have a break someday."

"Yeah, maybe after she finishes law school." Kurt replied. "And you didn't answer my question."

"Oh, I start tomorrow already." She answered him as she too got up. They walked to the couch, Rachel lied down while Kurt just sat on the floor since the brunette had occupied the whole couch. He turned on the TV and they started watching a re-run of _America's Next Top Model_.

Rachel woke up when her alarm went off, "Oh my god! Turn off that thing," Santana screamed from the couch, probably where she slept. Rachel and Kurt had gone off to bed the other night and Santana still hadn't been home. The brunette turned the alarm off and got up. She went to the kitchen where she ate her breakfast. After she took a shower and got ready to leave for work, she looked at the clock. Ten minutes to noon. Her shift started at 12:30, she had to get going. She didn't want to be late on her first day.

She grabbed her keys and her purse from the table on the living room, "I'm going to work, Santana. Bye," the only answer she got was a grunt. She sighed and left her apartment. She took the subway, the place was far from the apartment. She got out and walked five minutes until she entered the restaurant – Beats. She entered and a tall blonde woman wearing the restaurant's uniform – the name with a single note after the s – greeted her with a blinding smile that made Rachel smile almost instantly.

"Hello, my name is Brittany. You must be the new waitress, Rachel." Rachel nodded her head. "Follow me." They pass the kitchen where all the cooks where pre-preparing the food for the day and a blonde woman a little bit shorter than Brittany was yelling for them to hurry up because they were almost opening. She stopped to admire the blonde woman – who must be the chef – she looked angry but she was so beautiful, Rachel had never seen someone with such beauty before in her life even with her yelling and a little bit sweaty. "That's Quinn," Brittany said suddenly from beside her, "she's the chef."

"She looks a bit angry." Rachel said which earned her a quite laugh from Brittany.

"Yeah, she looks like that most of the time here, but she's nice. She blames on stupid mistakes the beginners make." Brittany said and continued walking, Rachel followed behind. Brittany opened at door on the far back of the restaurant. "This is our lockers, you can pick yours and I'll write your name on it." Rachel nodded and picked the only available. "I'm going to get you your uniform." She said as she left the room.

She came back with a black skirt and a black blouse. "So here is your nametag, so go get dressed and I'll be waiting for you on the front. Okay?" She asked and Rachel nodded. The blonde left the room and Rachel got dressed. She walked to the front of the restaurant where she saw Brittany, talking with the other waiters. She approached them. "Guys, this is Rachel." She introduced the brunette to the group. "This is Puck," she gestured to a man with a Mohawk who winked at her, she smiled politely, "this is Tina," an Asian woman smiled at her, "and this is Sam," a blonde man smiled cheerfully at her, "and last but not least, this is Kitty," a blonde woman, who looked a bit younger than her gave her a small smile.

"I was telling them about you," Brittany continued, "and how today is going to be a long day as it is Friday." Rachel nodded, she had worked as a waitress before but that was in a small diner with Kurt and Santana a long time ago, she never worked in a place like this. The place was sophisticated and just looking around gave her a feeling of people dressed in the best dresses and in their best suit. Brittany finished talking with them. "I'm going to help you today since is your first day," she said addressing Rachel.

"Okay."

"Rachel, I'm going." Brittany said as she left the room. The brunette nodded as she finished tying her shoes. She had been working on the restaurant for two weeks now and she had been enjoying even though sometimes it could get really stressful especially on weekends. She had been going to auditions since she started waitressing but hadn't heard back from any yet.

She was enjoying the people there. She discovered that every Tuesday and Friday night they had live music. One of the singers, Mercedes Jones, was a diva like herself and Kurt but she also discovered that she was fun. On Friday nights the singer was different, it was a girl younger than herself, probably Kitty's age. Her name was Marley Rose, she had an amazing voice and was such a sweetheart. Everyone else was just as nice, the other waiters and waitress, even though Puck – or Noah, she discovered it was his first name and insisted in calling him that – could be a bit of a pervert sometimes and Kitty was kind of mean.

Today she was the last one to leave because the table she was waitressing took a while to leave the restaurant. She got up and took her phone and her purse from her locker and closed it. She left the room and walked through the hall when someone bumped into her. Her purse and phone fell to the ground. "Oh I'm so sorry." The girl – she noticed by the voice – said. She looked up and saw blonde hair and hazel eyes. Quinn, the chef – and owner of the restaurant she came to know. She smiled up at the taller girl.

"Don't worry." She said and Quinn bent down to pick the purse and the phone and gave to the brunette. "Thank you." She smiled again and the blonde smiled back, brightly. If Rachel thought the blonde looked beautiful angry it had nothing compared to the blonde smiling, her eyes shining in amusement. She noticed she was staring and cleared her throat before looking down. She noticed her phone didn't break from the impact with the floor. She breathed in relief.

"You're welcome-"

"Rachel. My name is Rachel Berry." Rachel responded to the silent question.

"Well, nice to meet you, Rachel Berry." The blonde smile winded. "Quinn Fabray."

"Yeah, I know." The brunette said. Quinn nodded.

"Is your phone okay? I'm sorry for that." She frowned looking down at Rachel's hands.

"It's fine. There's nothing wrong." Rachel reassured the blonde who nodded.

"I'm glad." She said as voice came from the kitchen, "Quinn! What is taking you so long?" Kitty appeared on the kitchen door and smirked as she saw the two of them standing close to each other. Rachel took a step back not having noticed their closeness. "I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?"

"No, I was just leaving." Rachel said. She thought Quinn's face fell a little at that. It was probably her imagination. "Bye, Quinn. Kitty." She nodded to the younger blonde.

"Bye, Rachel." They said at the same time, Rachel smiled at that and started walking to the exit of the restaurant. Her phone vibrated on her hand.

"Hello?" She answered after reading the ID caller – it was Kurt.

"What's taking you so long?" He asked her.

"Nothing, I just got side tracked by something. I'm on my way." She said as she finished the call. Less than thirty minutes later she entered the apartment.

"Dinner's in the oven." Kurt said from the couch. She thanked him and put her things on her room before going to the kitchen and heating the food on the microwave. She put some juice on a cup before going to the living room and seating on the couch with the plate of food.

"Where's Santana?" She asked him as she noticed the absence of the brunette.

"She's sleeping in her room." He answered her. At least she isn't studying, she thought. Her cell phone started vibrating. She looked to see the ID and noticed it was her dad calling.

"Hello?"

Quinn stood on the hall after Rachel left. She looked at Kitty, who was smirking. "C'mon, I'll just grab my things from my office so that we can go," Quinn said and walked down the hall to her office where she grabbed her things and came back to where Kitty was. "Stop with that face," Quinn said before continuing her walk down the hall, Kitty following. They left and made sure everything was locked before they began walking.

"I'm not making any face."

"Sure," Quinn said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I'm simply wondering what I walked into right now," Kitty stated as they rounded the corner.

"You walked into nothing. We were simply having a conversation because I bumped into her and dropped her things. So I was apologizing." She stated as they entered a tall building. "Good night," Quinn said to the guard with a smile.

"Good night, Ms. Fabray. Ms. Wilde."

Kitty only smiled at the man. They walked to the elevator. They didn't have to wait for long, they entered the elevator and pressed their floor number.

"You do know, they you're really close to her, right?" Kitty stated and Quinn lifted her eyebrow. "Fine. I'll drop it, but you have a crush on Rachel."

"I do not have a crush on her. I just met her, I simply noticed she was really attractive." Kitty smiled but said nothing. It was better to drop it. They entered their apartment. Kitty went straight to the couch where she laid down as Quinn went to the kitchen. She grabbed a bottle of water.

Quinn went to the living room and sat on the arm chair on the side of the couch. "Are you working tomorrow?" Quinn asked her. Kitty shook her head.

"I have classes all day." Quinn nodded. "Why?"

"Just wondering. I thought maybe we could go to that little café you like so much."

"Sure. Pick me up at six." Kitty said as Quinn got up.

"Anyway, good night. I have to wake up in a few hours." Quinn said as she kissed the other blonde's forehead before making her way to her bedroom.

"So now you just have to take the bar exam?" Rachel asked Santana as they walked in the park near their apartment. They both had coffee on their hands. It was cold so they were both wearing coats over their clothes, it was starting to snow and the view on the park was simply breathtaking.

"Yeah, to become a real lawyer. And then I have to get a job." Santana said.

"You'll get a job quick, don't worry. You were born to be a lawyer, they'll see that." Rachel said, she took a sip of her coffee. They walked for a while in silence when Rachel saw two blondes sitting in one of the benches. They got closer and Rachel noticed they were Quinn and Brittany.

Brittany saw Rachel and got up when she got closer. She hugged the petite brunette, "Rachel!" She said, smiling.

"Hello, Brittany," Rachel responded with a smile of her own. "Hello, Quinn."

"Hey, Rachel," Quinn replied. They haven't really talked since the incident, they just said hellos and good mornings when Rachel when Rachel were working. But she noticed how Quinn would always smile when she talked with her, even when the restaurant was crowded or the sous chef did something stupid. But she still didn't find out what Kitty was doing there after work hours with Quinn. Santana cleared her throat.

"Oh sorry. Brittany, Quinn, this is my friend Santana." Rachel introduced them.

"Hello, Brittany. Quinn." She said, a little awkward before the tallest blonde hugged her. She was surprised for a few seconds before she hugged her back. They parted and Brittany gave her a smile and Santana smiled. Rachel found that weird, Santana never smiled to strangers. But she let it go.

"We've met before." Brittany said, answering the question that was clear in Rachel's face. Rachel looked surprised and Santana looked down, in embarrassment or shyness, Rachel thought but Santana was never embarrassed or shy.

"Really? Where?" Rachel asked her, turning her attention back to the blonde.

"She studies at NYU, too." The Latina answered for Brittany. "We met at campus a few times." Rachel nodded.

"We were going to feed the ducks. Would you like to join us?" Brittany asked them.

"We'd love to." Santana replied quickly. Rachel gave her a weird look but Brittany was already grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the duck pond. Quinn laughed quietly beside her.

"Shall we?" Quinn said with a smile on her face. Rachel nodded and they began walking behind the other two who were a few feet in front of them.

"So you both came all the way here to feed the ducks?" Rachel asked her, she figured the blonde lived quite far from that part of the city.

"No, I was visiting Brittany. She lives close by and Kitty wanted to visit Marley who also lives somewhere around here." Quinn explained.

"I didn't know Marley and Kitty were friends." Rachel said as they reached the duck pond and she and the blonde decided to seat on a bench close and let the other two have their time.

"Oh, they're dating." Quinn replied. Rachel looked at her in surprised, she definitely didn't know that part. She thought Kitty and Quinn were dating since they spend so much time together, she noticed the past weeks. Not that she was paying attention.

"Oh, I thought you were dating Kitty as you spend so much time together." Rachel voiced her thoughts, she sounded a little jealous to herself but she didn't care. Quinn laughed softly beside her and the brunette gave her a questioning look.

"Kitty is my cousin." Quinn replied through a smile. Rachel's mouth formed an 'o' in surprised. Quinn laughed again. "It's a long story, but she's living with me. So she usually stays late on the restaurant so that we can go back to our apartment together." The blonde explained further.

"Well, I'm sorry for assuming anything." Rachel replied as she watched Santana and Brittany. The Latina was smiling while the blonde told her something.

"Don't worry. Even though that is new, people usually assume we are sisters." Quinn smiled. Rachel smiled back even though she was a little bit embarrassed. "So, Rachel. Where are you from?"

"Lima, Ohio," Rachel smiled at her, "I came here with my friend, Kurt and Santana. I studied at NYADA while Kurt decided to pursue the fashion career and Santana entered Law School." Quinn nodded.

"So you're a performer." Quinn stated, looking at her with a smile on her face.

"Yes, my dream has always been Broadway. Since I was a child all I could think about is coming to New York and perform to a crowd of hundreds every night on a musical on Broadway. But I haven't gotten any role yet, but I did an audition to an off-Broadway show this past week and I'm feeling hopeful about it."

"I'm sure you'll get it," Quinn said and Rachel shook her head at the blonde. "What?"

"You don't even know if I can sing, Quinn. You just met me." Rachel responded, smiling.

"I don't have to, I'm sure you are great." Quinn said, beaming. Rachel couldn't believe a woman she just met could just say that and sound like she really believed what she was saying, but Quinn did look confident in what she was saying. She knew she could like no one else in the world, she knew she had an amazing voice and she knew she could act and dance, but to have someone she just met say that made her feel good, like she could actually do all of this. "When you get a role on a Broadway play, I'll be there watching you and saying 'I knew she would make it'." Rachel blushed and looked down.

"Thank you, Quinn." Rachel said, bashfully.

"You're welcome, Rachel Berry." Quinn smiled, a smile Rachel noticed was beautiful, to the curl of Quinn's lips to the happiness that reached her eyes.

They both turned to the pond and watched as Brittany and Santana talked and fed the ducks.

Rachel was working on the lunch shift on a Friday when Quinn with her white uniform - chef attire with her name and long sleeves – approached Rachel as she was getting out of the locker room. It had been one week since they met on the park. "Hey, Rachel," Quinn greeted her with a smile. Rachel smiled back.

"Hello, Quinn. Can I help you?" She asked the blonde woman, who nodded.

"Yes. I was wondering if you would like to join me on the food truck today." Quinn answered. Rachel had noticed that every Friday at lunch time, Quinn disappeared somewhere with one of the waiters or a sous chef.

"I won't be much of a help. I can't cook to save my life." Rachel joked. Quinn chuckled.

"Don't worry. You only have to take the orders, I'll do the rest." Quinn stated. "So what do you say?" She smiled hopefully down at the brunette.

"Sure. I would love to." Quinn beamed. Rachel felt her own lips quirk up at that.

"Okay. Great." Quinn said. The brunette followed Quinn out of the restaurant by the back door where the food truck of the same name as the restaurant was. Rachel heard that before the restaurant, Quinn went out with the food truck every day until she had a fan base and enough money to start her own restaurant. Now Quinn went out every Friday with the truck, she also heard she was opening a coffee shop at the end of the street of the restaurant.

They stepped in the truck and Quinn started driving to the place she chose for the day. They stopped near a park where a lot of people were already there waiting for the food truck. It was crowded, Rachel noticed. She could barely see the grass on the ground. Rachel was a little nervous about that many people, she never attended to such a jammed place.

"C'mon, it's going to be a long couple of hours." Quinn smiled, calming the brunette. The blonde got up and opened the truck. The line was already formed and the brunette could barely see the end of it. Then the long two hours of work started.

She placed the order and received the payment, then gave the order to the person. She worked as fast as she could and that seemed to please both Quinn and the customers, who said she was so polite – unlike that blonde one who just scowled at them.

So she spent the next almost three hours taking order after order. She actually liked that job, it was better than working at the restaurant actually; the people were much kinder to her and much less snob-y.

After the last customer received their order, Quinn made some food for her and Rachel. Both closed the truck before going outside and enjoying the food and to relax. Rachel looked at Quinn and noticed that her sleeves were rolled up to her elbows. She saw for the first time that Quinn's arms were filled with tattoos, the left arm was colorful full of life while the right one had more tattoos that were black and white. Rachel stared at a beautiful black and white tattoo of a flower that looked realistic almost like she could touch it and feel the petals on her hands.

Quinn cleared her throat bringing the brunette's attention back to the present. Rachel looked bashful, Quinn only smiled at her. "It's really beautiful. This one," Rachel said as she pointed at the flower. Quinn nodded. "Like you could touch it and feel the petals." Rachel continued, hypnotized a bit by the flower.

"Yeah. I drew that myself." Quinn said, a blush crept on her neck and ears. "Thank you." Rachel was mesmerized by that woman that could draw masterpieces and cook the best food in the world. Rachel took a bite of her taco, the best one she ever tasted. "So how's the audition process going?" Quinn asked her.

"Oh, I got a call back yesterday for that play I told you about."

"I'm glad."

"It's only off-Broadway." Rachel said, feeling a warm rush on her face.

"Yeah, but soon you will be on the Broadway lights. Just wait a little bit more." Quinn smiled.

"Okay. Enough about me, Quinn. I noticed how you never told me where you're from." Rachel stated and Quinn nodded.

"I'm from here, actually. Born and raised, but most of my family is from Ohio." Quinn smiled at her. "Lima, Ohio to be more exact." Rachel beamed at the realization.

"Did you visit that part of the family often?" Rachel asked her.

"Sometimes. Kitty actually lived there before she came here." Quinn said as she took a bite of her taco. Rachel frowned.

"I don't remember seen her around there." She shrugged. "So you're saying we could have met each other a long time ago?" Quinn nodded.

"I actually remember seeing you one time." Rachel gave her a questioned look. "I was 18 at the time, just graduated school here. I spent some days with Kitty and her family. Kitty liked show choirs and she dragged me into seeing one competition from High Schools of the area. You were there, and that's why I know you have the most amazing voice and how I know you'll be a celebrity one day." Quinn continued. Rachel gave her an incredulous look, this amazing woman saw her eight years ago when she was 16 and she remembered her.

"Why didn't you tell me that before?" Rachel asked her. Quinn shrugged.

"I don't know. I didn't think it was that important." She said, looking down. Rachel nodded and asked other questions as they finished eating before going back to the restaurant where Quinn said goodbye then going back to the kitchen to start prepping up for dinner time.

Rachel was just finishing cleaning her last table at the restaurant when she got a call from the director of the play saying she was their lead role. She squealed and beamed, the others employees looked at her and she told them the good news. Everybody cheered and engulfed her in a big group hug. She thanked all of them. Quinn stepped out of the kitchen to see what all that noise was about.

Rachel saw her and walked out of the cheering waiters to go to Quinn, who as soon as she Rachel smiled at the beaming smile on the brunette's face. They walked to the hall on the side of the kitchen to have more of a private conversation. "So what's up?" Quinn asked her, grinning.

"I got the part." Rachel only said and saw the grin on Quinn's face turn into a full blown smile. She felt herself being swept off her feet and Quinn's arms around her waist.

"I knew it!" She heard Quinn's voice on her ear. Rachel's arms went around her neck, hugging her back. Quinn put her down, still smiling and her arms still around her waist. They stared at each other. Quinn was leaning down, her face coming closer to Rachel's. Her hazel eyes were looking from Rachel's eyes to her lips. The brunette was leaning up, her eyes doing the same as Quinn's.

Quinn leaned down even closer, her lips brushing Rachel's. Rachel pressed their lips, firmly her arms tightening around the blonde's neck. Their eyes closed with pleasure. Rachel felt a tongue touch her bottom lip and opened her mouth, deepening the kiss and standing on her tip toes, Quinn's arm holding her in place.

The kiss was sweet, chaste and slow. They kissed until Rachel's phone buzzed in the pocket of the apron. Startled, they stepped away from each other as Rachel answered her phone. "Hello?...Yes… I got the part…Okay, Santana will celebrate when I get home… I have to go… Bye." She hung up and looked at Quinn, who was leaning on the wall with a smile on her face. Rachel smiled back and walked over to her, giving her a peck on the lips.

Quinn rested her hands on the brunette's hips. "So…" She began, "I was thinking how about a date sometime?" She grinned, delight with prospect of actually going on a date with the brunette.

"Sure." The brunette replied and they kissed again.

Quinn met with Santana, Brittany and Kurt – who she met a few months ago – at the entrance of the theatre. The blonde was holding a bouquet of different flowers. They entered the place and they took their seats on the first row.

Rachel was great, just as Quinn expected her to be. She was perfect, the chemistry between her and the rest of the cast was amazing. The writing and the scenery was perfect. Rachel been there just made everything that much more perfect.

Quinn cried by the end of the play. She stood and clapped and cheered the loudest.

When the play ended they all went backstage. She met Rachel in her dressing room and gave her the bouquet. "You were perfect." Quinn said, giving her a kiss on the lips. Rachel looped her arms around the blonde's neck and kissed her more firmly.

"Thank you." She responded before she was being hugged by Brittany and the others. Quinn smiled and let the brunette be swept with all the compliments.

They decided to go out to eat and Rachel and Quinn walked together, their fingers entwined. Rachel's head rested on Quinn's shoulder. "Rach?"

"Hmm."

"I'm going to open a new restaurant, I just signed the lease to this awesome place. I'd liked if you went there with me tomorrow." Quinn said. Rachel looked up at her with a smile.

"I would love to." She responded.

"I think you will like the name." Quinn said and the brunette gave her a silent question. "Berry's Place."

Rachel beamed up at her and leaned her head on the blonde's shoulder again. It's been a year since she took the job at Beats. That was the best thing she ever did.

It's been six months since she and Quinn started dating, and she was sure they would be together for many more years to come.

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><p><strong>AN: So I'm back. If you follow Love Is Easy, I'm sorry but I don't think I'll ever continue that story. Maybe I'll a second part for this. I hope you like it and I'm sorry for any mistake. Reviews are appreciated.**


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